Nora


    I


    made a bizarre phone call earlier.


    I called my mom and said I had traveled back in time and was here to make everything right. She believed me since she is also a time guardian like me.


    Now I''m sitting on the train with ke. He is traveling as my pretense older brother, and it feels safe with him being bigger than me. At least then, I know no one will attempt to murder me.


    I nce up at him. "You know, it''s peculiar being fourteen again. My mind really isn''t that of a teenager..."


    He shes me a grin. "Wee to my world. My body doesn''t age, but I remember days, years, and lots of shit... I''ve honestly been alive for way too long for what is healthy." "Is that why you''re so powerful?"


    Pale blue eyes find mine, and a quirky smile spreads over ke''s lips as he takes me in. "Do you think I''m powerful, Nora?"


    I blink up at him. "Aren''t you?"


    An emotion I don''t understand spreads over his features. ke lets his eyes roam over my face, and then heughs.


    "Just interesting hearing you say it," he winks at me, and then his eyes travel to my feet. His lips twitch. "It seems you reached your full height at fourteen. You''re still short."


    He flicks his feet, and I re at his shoes. If something makes me blush, it''s people pointing out that I''m short. So, I stubbornly try to stretch my legs out of price and prove to ke I''m not a dwarf, but my toes only reach a little bit past his knees. A snort leaves his mouth. "Hey, at least you tried."


    "You''re so mean!" I tap at his chest but give in toughter. I''m unable to hold it and shake my head. "My height is like my weakness. It''s unfair to tease me about it!" ke shows me his pearly white teeth. "Ah, but what are you always doing when I''m in my true form? Oh, I remember now-you pick me up without permission!"


    I yelp when his mammoth hand mps down on my sides and lifts me off the seat. Laughter forces its way up my throat as ke lifts me up and down, up and down. "I get your point!" I can''t believe he is using me as a personal kettlebell. He doesn''t seem bothered by the weight, and I meet his eyes whileughing. "ke! Stop!" Smiling, he ces me down on hisp. His chinnds on top of mine within a moment, and his hands are on my sides.


    A couple has taken the seats before us, and someone else slumps down where I sat before. I nervously nce at ke, unsure what to make of this situation. He shrugs. "I don''t mind if you sit in myp."


    "Thank you."


    "You''re wee."


    I chat with ke for a couple more minutes until it''s finally time to get off the train.


    When I walk through the doors, my eyesnd on my mom, dads, and even my sister, Lily.


    Her arms are crossed over her chest. She is wearing a ck dress that hugs her delicate body and scowls at me.


    Looking into her face isn''t easy. She is the reason Leo died in the other timeline. I have to remind myself that none of that has happened yet and that it never will.


    Deep within me, my heart is mending. It''s whispering soothing words into my ears, telling me this Lily wears the face of innocence, that she isn''t evil yet.


    I believe in my heart, and I will change the future.


    I don''t walk up to my mom to hug her. Nor do I pick Raphael or Evan, who are both smiling at me. I walk straight up to Lily, meet her confused eyes, and then wrap my arms around her.


    "You and I have a lot to work on, and I know we have fallen apart, but we are sisters. You''re my meat and blood, and... I don''t think we have to keep being enemies."


    Honestly, I don''t expect things from simply saying those words, but to my surprise, Lily squeezes me back.


    "I miss you," she says in a shaky voice. "When you left to attend that other school... I just came back to your empty room, and f**k... I''ve been so mean to you, Nora. It''s my fault that you left." Tears are prickling behind my eyelids. I lean back from her, meeting her eyes that look so much like mine.


    "I forgive you," I tell her. It isn''t easy, but it needs to be done. Lily has treated me like trash for a couple of years, yet I believe we can start over again from this moment. "Because I want my sister back." "Even though I''ve been terrible?"


    "Yes."


    Emotion makes her eyes swell. I see Confusion, sadness, and regret circle around her irises, and the visible regret on her face almost knocks me off my feet.


    Tears are forming in the corner of her eyes, spilling on her cheekbones. Her lips are trembling, and I smile despite the pain in my chest. I know from that moment that I''ve made the right choice to forgive her.


    We can move through this and be sisters again.


    "Uhh..." Raphael interrupts the sweet moment by staring up at ke with wide eyes. "Who the f**k are you, and why are you so tall? And what is up with your ears? Are you an elf?"


    "I''m a fairy," ke corrects him, showing his pointed canine teeth in a yful smile. "I can change my size at will, and let''s just say I hate being the shortest person around," he nods at Evan. "That guy over there is huge, so I decided I wanted to be seven feet tall." Raphael freezes. "Oh..." his eyes narrow then. "Wait, why are you with my underaged daughter?!"


    ke holds up his hands in surrender when Evan and my mom snap their heads to re at him. They also seem to have realized that my friendship with him is strange.


    "Uh... Nora? A little help?"


    I snort in amusement. "ke is from the other timeline, and he still looks like that because... I don''t know, actually?"


    "Because I''ve looked like this for decades and kind of merged with you to time-travel by your side... I also don''t really age that quickly."


    Evan''s face softens. "You''re like me then. I don''t age, and my life is bound to my mate-I will die when Ste dies."


    The two of them smile at each other, and ke nces between them with understanding settling over his features.


    "At the moment, I''m not mated to anyone-" Raphael res at him again, and ke nervouslyughs. "Oh, but I''m not mated to Nora. You don''t have to worry."


    "Ah, why didn''t you say so?" Raphael rxes and turns to me with a smile ying over his lips. "So, you have time traveled like your mother? How was it? Is there anything we should know about?"


    Everyone''s attentionnds on me, and I gulp. "Oh... I''m not sure if I''m supposed to tell you anything?" I attempt a smile, but it falters when everyone keeps staring at me. "What?"


    "It''s nothing, sweetheart," my mom says in a warm voice. She then grimaces as if hesitating before continuing. "You''re just... Different. Take no offense. I don''t mean it in a bad way-—"


    Before she can continue, I walk forward and embrace her in a hug. I''m not sure when Ist hugged her and showed affection.


    She turns tense as I squeeze her, but then she hups and hugs me back. Her voice breaks, and I hear her cry. I let her-it seems this family was much more broken than I initially thought. But I''m sure we can fix that. A little glue and my family won''t be as shattered, and then I need another miracle to get close to Lily and convince her that Leo is my mate.


    Can I do that without Lily wanting to kill me for stealing the boy she has been crushing on for years?